Scenery Hill man to stand trial

Curtis Thompson Jr. of Scenery Hill leaves the courtroom after his preliminary hearing on accusations of rape. Thompson is a son of District Judge Curtis L. Thompson.
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The son of a Washington County district judge will stand trial after a senior district judge ruled there was enough evidence to proceed in a rape case against him.

Curtis Thompson Jr., 29, of 390 Pigeon Creek Road, Scenery Hill, was ordered held for court on charges pertaining to one girl after a preliminary hearing Wednesday in the Washington County Central Court. A second girl declined to testify and the charges relating to her were dismissed.

Thompson is the son of District Judge Curtis L. Thompson, whose district includes Bentleyville, Beallsville, Cokeburg, Ellsworth, Marianna and North Bethlehem, Somerset, West Bethlehem and West Pike Run townships. A senior district judge from another county was brought in to preside over the preliminary hearing as a result.

Thompson was accused of sexually assaulting two young sisters, ages 5 and 7, while he was babysitting them roughly 13 years ago. Thompson was 17 at the time of the alleged incidents. The younger girl, who is now 18, testified, but the older girl did not.

She said Thompson was allowed to babysit the girls while they went swimming at a home in Cokeburg. The girl said that in the summer of 2001, she was at the home swimming and had changed clothes in a basement room. She testified that Thompson came in and told her he wanted to show her something, took her to a back room and had sex with her. She also said that Thompson threatened to harm her if she told anyone.

Thompson was arrested and arraigned in December. He is represented by attorney Chris Blackwell.

He faces charges of forcible rape, rape threat of forcible compulsion, rape of a person less than 13, sexual assault, terroristic threats and indecent assault.

He remains free on a $50,000 unsecured bond. He has been ordered not to have any contact with the women.